Fat Fred Furious At Owen Story!

The last thing Fat Fred wanted this weekend was England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson making an arse of himself as an undercover reporter in Dubai took him to the cleaners. Not only did it have the FA in a flap, but to say that Michael Owen was 'not happy with the club' had all of Tyneside deawing their own conclusion on events at Newcastle

Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd has a habit of shooting himself in the foot, but this time he was asked by reporters to defend one of his players, and he struggled to come up with anything convincing.

Shepherd: 'I have spoken to Michael and he insists he is happy at Newcastle United. There is nothing more to say on the matter. That is the end of the story.'

Owen himself, wouldn't talk about it either.

Owen: 'Although it is too early to be making accurate forecasts, I hope to be back for at least a month of the Premiership season. I appreciate the patience of the Newcastle fans who, because of injury, have seen me in bursts.

'I like to think that I showed what I can bring to the black-and-white shirt whenever I play and, fingers crossed, this broken metatarsal is the last bit of bad luck for a while.'